Talib Kweli Quotes
- All Quotes
-
We commute through computers. Spirits stay mute while our ego spread rumors. We're survivalists turned to consumers
-
Hip-hop is a vehicle.
-
We're in an illusion about what our role is in world politics and foreign affairs, and our policies are killing and destroying and doing a lot of things that we are not aware of.
-
It doesn't get any more underground, conscious or indie than Macklemore, Ryan Lewis, but because they got a couple of really big pop hits, actually some of the biggest pop hits that hip-hop has ever seen, people are missing that part of their story. People are not counting that blessing.
-
I think hip-hop is no more misogynistic than America is as a society. I just think hip-hop is a lot more brash, a lot more bold, a lot more loquacious. There are a lot more words that go into a hip-hop song than go into a regular song.
-
Woman are complex creatures.
-
You gotta eat right, you gotta have healthy habits, you know, and balance out your decadence with a healthy lifestyle during the day.
-
So I think hip-hop is moving and is going to continue to move in the direction of rappers just being honest with themselves, whether you're talking about Common and Mos Def or Nas and 50 cent.
-
Honestly, you have to take care of yourself. That's probably something I have learned on the road.
-
Things are fluid in this world, and if you don't remain fluid, you get lost in the sauce.
-
What's more condescending and corny than someone telling you how much more money they have than you and telling you basically, 'I don't care about poor people,' which is a large part of what you hear of corporate hip-hop on the radio.
-
The way I see it, if people truly love my music, they will support me in some way down the road.
-
When I look at the arc of my career, my focus is on lyricism, right? I own that.
-
As far as being on a major label, some labels get it and get what they have to do, and some labels don't. I don't think the label I'm on necessarily gets it, but I think over time they're gonna have to.
-
I think people are into me because of my music choices and my musicality.
-
I'm not looking to set a standard... but, I believe I have offered a challenge to others with my work.
-
But it becomes disrespectful when the artist's process is not respected.
-
You know, there's a lot of activism that doesn't deal with empowerment, and you have to empower yourself in order to be relevant to any type of struggle.
-
Being called 'conscious' is a great thing to be, but it's the connotations and preconceived notions that come with the buying audience about what conscious music can be.
-
That's what hip-hop is: It's sociology and English put to a beat, you know.
-
Life is a beautiful struggle People search through the rubble for a suitable hussle Some people using their noodle Some people using their muscle Some people put it all together make it fit like a puzzle
-
When I'm in the studio, I'm strictly thinking about the beats, the rhymes and the song. The decision I make once the songs are created, and there's a barcode put on the package, and I'm out there in the street selling it, those decisions as a businessman are different than the creative decisions you make.
-
I met Mos Def around that time but I didn't hook up with him until I was about 17 or 18.
-
At exactly which point do you start to realize, that life without knowledge is death in disguise?